Bob Arum questions Canelo Alvarez's popularity by labeling his PPV buys from the Dmitry Bivol fight as a 'disaster'
Canelo Alvarez suffered his second professional loss against Dmitry Bivol in May in one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s recent history.
Alvarez failed to grab the WBA light heavyweight belt and has now dropped down to the super middleweight division. However, losing the in-ring fight against Bivol isn’t the only setback he suffered that night.
The PPV buys for Canelo vs. Bivol didn’t make it to the expectations.
That said, Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum has tagged the fight to be a ‘disaster’ in a recent interaction with FightHype. Arum said,
“I mean Canelo’s fight with Bivol, did around 300k, which is a disaster.”
Watch Canelo vs. Bivol highlights below:
According to reports, Canelo vs. Bivol sold almost 550k PPV buys. It was a drop from Canelo’s undisputed 168 lbs title win against Caleb Plant in November 2021. Alvarez vs Plant on Showtime PPV reportedly sold 880K PPVs.
Canelo Alvarez could have fought Jermall Charlo of PBC instead of Bivol. The fight might have generated more numbers.
Nevertheless, Alvarez’s upcoming fight against Gennady Golovkin could settle all odds. The trilogy fight on September 13 is already creating a buzz and could go down as one of the biggest matchups in boxing.
Fresh off a win against Ryota Murata, Golovkin is already locked in to take on his former nemesis. Meanwhile, the bad blood between the two is also prominent, which cites an interesting clash incoming.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin 3 can be a big hit
The first two fights between Canelo and 'GGG' were massive hits at the Box Office, hosted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. The trilogy will be hosted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Promotions. Hearn has already vowed to organize a global tour for the media presser of Canelo vs. GGG 3.
Canelo Alvarez has one win over ‘GGG’ in two fights, which began with a controversial draw in 2017. Although Canelo won the rematch in 2018, many consider it to be a robbery.
Meanwhile, the third fight is set to take place just after Alvarez’s lopsided loss against Bivol.
The Mexican star will try to bounce back in the win column and has vowed to retire Golovkin. It will be interesting to see whether Alvarez can stand by his words or if it will be a classic display of action from Gennadiy Golovkin.